You may not agree with what the money is intended for but it is not a gift. It is a grant and that money must be used solely for what it was originally intended. Why would you consider giving it back? Use it for what it is intended.
The US needs to use more public transportation and fewer cars. Not just to save the environment from car emissions but also to save taxpayers money. Gas is going to continue to increase as the supply diminishes. No one can stop that. When gas spikes again, and it will, many lower income people will not be able to pay the high prices. Nor can they afford the more expensive, fuel efficient cars. More efficient public transportation is the best option (high speed trains). It has been working in Europe for decades. Once this area is linked we will have more vacation and career options. Airfare has risen so much it is becoming increasingly difficult to afford a vacation. Also, the trains will be fast enough that we could work in Cleveland/Pittsburgh and still live here. Aren’t we trying to do everything we can to keep our young people in the area? Just think of the job opportunities.
I don't think even they are too stupid to see the obvious, hire the best qualified. I think the problem is that they WANT to pick officers based on color/sex and they are really trying to find a way around this. What they should do is offer a study/training class free and open to everyone. Hire the best qualified no matter what color/sex. That is the only way to make sure there is no discrimination.
You can't tell me that being 45 policemen short doesn't make a difference. How are they supposed to keep up a saturation patrol? Right now they are using overtime but that costs a lot of $ and won't last for ever. You can't expect the policemen to work 6/7 days a week all the time.
Please don't give the mayor props for the demolition program. If they/he hadn't lost the federal grant for this there could be many more vacant homes torn down. Besides, the EPA may not allow so many homes to be torn down within the same area. I believe they only allow 1 per year, per block.
First let me say I completely support the police and would pay more in taxes if it meant that the money would actually go to the police. After the tax was passed years ago, their budget wasn't increased so where did that money go?
I was not blaming the police I know they are doing everything they can with what little they have. I am blaming the mayor and city council for not hiring enough police and instead cutting them.
What I have stated is very accurate. I know for a FACT that on many nights (when most violent crimes occur) there are only about 6 patrolmen for the entire city. Just because the beats are supposed to be split up in a certain way doesn't mean they actually have the officers there to do that. There may be a total of 10 patrolmen for a single shift but there are NEVER 10 patrolmen for any singel part of town. At the very best the east has 4, west and north each 3, south 6, and 1 downtown.
I was not stating the highway patrol or YPD should pull over a car simply because it has 4 people in it. I was saying they don't want to pull over a car with that many people because it might be too dangerous for them. YPD will if they have the backup. The problem is they don't have enough patrolmen for backup. The highway patrol never pulls them over even though when they "saturate" the city they will have at least 4 cars in one small area (plenty of backup). If the highway patrol wanted to be more effective in detering crime, perhaps they should be out more at night and not bother the few people that actually work in this city and pay taxes. It is actually better for the city to have YPD write tickets because if state writes a ticket they use state codes and the state gets the majority of the money.
What good is the Highway Patrol when they're pulling over grandma in the middle of the afternoon for a burnt out tail light? The Highway Patrol isn't pulling over a car full of gang bangers with guns/drugs. You need the police for that.
The Attorney General listening to William's ideas won't work. He obviously hasn't done anything that worked yet. I don't know what they expected when they decided to cut the police department of an extremely violent city. They weren't top heavy, they were bottom light. There are some days that only about half a dozen officers are on patrol for the entire city. They have almost 50 fewer patrolmen now than 10 years ago. So now they've cut detectives (no one to investigate) and haven't replaced patrolmen (no one to arrest). Maybe they shouldn't have hired people for positions that haven't been filled for years. Instead use those salaries to hire more police. There is no way they can be effective when they are so short. If you think the criminals don't know that the police department is short handed, you are sadly mistaken. How is it that we have higher taxes than any other major city in this state but can’t hire enough police? So where is our money going and why are we so broke?
Kasich wants to use $400M in rail funds for other purposes
You may not agree with what the money is intended for but it is not a gift. It is a grant and that money must be used solely for what it was originally intended. Why would you consider giving it back? Use it for what it is intended.
The US needs to use more public transportation and fewer cars. Not just to save the environment from car emissions but also to save taxpayers money. Gas is going to continue to increase as the supply diminishes. No one can stop that. When gas spikes again, and it will, many lower income people will not be able to pay the high prices. Nor can they afford the more expensive, fuel efficient cars. More efficient public transportation is the best option (high speed trains). It has been working in Europe for decades. Once this area is linked we will have more vacation and career options. Airfare has risen so much it is becoming increasingly difficult to afford a vacation. Also, the trains will be fast enough that we could work in Cleveland/Pittsburgh and still live here. Aren’t we trying to do everything we can to keep our young people in the area? Just think of the job opportunities.
November 9, 2010 at 9:25 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Firm to help city with its police-hiring policy
I don't think even they are too stupid to see the obvious, hire the best qualified. I think the problem is that they WANT to pick officers based on color/sex and they are really trying to find a way around this. What they should do is offer a study/training class free and open to everyone. Hire the best qualified no matter what color/sex. That is the only way to make sure there is no discrimination.
October 29, 2010 at 9:47 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Confronting crime
You can't tell me that being 45 policemen short doesn't make a difference. How are they supposed to keep up a saturation patrol? Right now they are using overtime but that costs a lot of $ and won't last for ever. You can't expect the policemen to work 6/7 days a week all the time.
Please don't give the mayor props for the demolition program. If they/he hadn't lost the federal grant for this there could be many more vacant homes torn down. Besides, the EPA may not allow so many homes to be torn down within the same area. I believe they only allow 1 per year, per block.
October 28, 2010 at 3:02 p.m. permalink suggest removal
With Cordray's input, safety summit to address Youngstown’s violent crime
First let me say I completely support the police and would pay more in taxes if it meant that the money would actually go to the police. After the tax was passed years ago, their budget wasn't increased so where did that money go?
I was not blaming the police I know they are doing everything they can with what little they have. I am blaming the mayor and city council for not hiring enough police and instead cutting them.
What I have stated is very accurate. I know for a FACT that on many nights (when most violent crimes occur) there are only about 6 patrolmen for the entire city. Just because the beats are supposed to be split up in a certain way doesn't mean they actually have the officers there to do that. There may be a total of 10 patrolmen for a single shift but there are NEVER 10 patrolmen for any singel part of town. At the very best the east has 4, west and north each 3, south 6, and 1 downtown.
I was not stating the highway patrol or YPD should pull over a car simply because it has 4 people in it. I was saying they don't want to pull over a car with that many people because it might be too dangerous for them. YPD will if they have the backup. The problem is they don't have enough patrolmen for backup. The highway patrol never pulls them over even though when they "saturate" the city they will have at least 4 cars in one small area (plenty of backup). If the highway patrol wanted to be more effective in detering crime, perhaps they should be out more at night and not bother the few people that actually work in this city and pay taxes. It is actually better for the city to have YPD write tickets because if state writes a ticket they use state codes and the state gets the majority of the money.
October 27, 2010 at 1:40 p.m. permalink suggest removal
With Cordray's input, safety summit to address Youngstown’s violent crime
What good is the Highway Patrol when they're pulling over grandma in the middle of the afternoon for a burnt out tail light? The Highway Patrol isn't pulling over a car full of gang bangers with guns/drugs. You need the police for that.
October 26, 2010 at 10:01 a.m. permalink suggest removal
With Cordray's input, safety summit to address Youngstown’s violent crime
The Attorney General listening to William's ideas won't work. He obviously hasn't done anything that worked yet. I don't know what they expected when they decided to cut the police department of an extremely violent city. They weren't top heavy, they were bottom light. There are some days that only about half a dozen officers are on patrol for the entire city. They have almost 50 fewer patrolmen now than 10 years ago. So now they've cut detectives (no one to investigate) and haven't replaced patrolmen (no one to arrest). Maybe they shouldn't have hired people for positions that haven't been filled for years. Instead use those salaries to hire more police. There is no way they can be effective when they are so short. If you think the criminals don't know that the police department is short handed, you are sadly mistaken. How is it that we have higher taxes than any other major city in this state but can’t hire enough police? So where is our money going and why are we so broke?
October 26, 2010 at 9:57 a.m. permalink suggest removal